San Ysidro school boss clams up

The former San Ysidro schools superintendent is refusing to answer questions in a lawsuit that could cost the district $18 million, as district lawyers say his responses could be used against him in a criminal corruption case.

Manuel Paul, who was placed on paid leave after being indicted in January, refused to answer virtually every question during a deposition earlier this month.

“On the advice of my attorney, I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege and respectfully decline to answer,” Paul said again and again, reading from a statement.

In court papers, lawyers for the district previously described Paul as a key witness in the civil case, a breach-of-contract action filed by a company hired to build solar projects on San Ysidro campuses. More recently, they supported his decision not to answer questions and unsuccessfully asked a judge to block release of video showing his less-than-forthcoming testimony.

Paul is just one of 15 people facing criminal charges in a contracting probe in three South County districts. Many of the region’s poorest families placed their trust in elected officials — once by electing them and again by saying yes to more than $1 billion in school improvement measures. The officials now stand accused of violating that trust by seeking personal gain from construction companies. They have pleaded not guilty.

The criminal case followed a series of U-T Watchdog reports focused on contractor relationships with school officials. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis called the matter one of the worst examples of public corruption she has pursued.

The pay-to-play allegations have undermined public confidence in the districts and prompted officials to divert resources from classrooms to severance packages — one for Paul and, before him, for ousted Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara.

Yes
87% (288)

No
13% (44)

332 total votes.

“The voters are going to be very leery about what’s asked of them in the future,” said Josie Hamada, a retired teacher now working to recall three San Ysidro board members. “They’re going to be more savvy. They’re going to ask more questions.”

Paul’s lawyer, James Fitzpatrick, said it was his decision for Paul not to answer questions.

“It’s just totally precautionary on my part,” FitzPatrick said. “Mr. Paul was eager to answer the questions. No problem. But he understood my advice. The game has changed because of the (criminal) filing. No one can draw any type of adverse inference from somebody’s decision to assert their constitutional rights.”

The silence of a key witness could hurt the chances for San Ysidro, where 80 percent of families qualify for federal lunch assistance. With a $40 million budget, a multimillion dollar case is important. The district is already confronting double-digit budget cuts in each of the next three years and has issued pink slips to 14 teachers.

Earlier this month, trustees voted to let Paul go. He will remain on paid leave through June 30, qualify for an additional year on his pension and receive at least one year’s pay. His base salary was $181,000 as of late 2012, up from $165,000 two years earlier.

Manuel Paul appeared in Superior Court as part of the South Bay corruption case on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Fifteen defendants were indicted on 232 different charges involving bribery, perjury, filing a false instrument, influencing an elected official, and obtaining a thing of value to influence a member of a legislative body.

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Manuel Paul appeared in Superior Court as part of the South Bay corruption case on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Fifteen defendants were indicted on 232 different charges involving bribery, perjury, filing a false instrument, influencing an elected official, and obtaining a thing of value to influence a member of a legislative body.

The severance package, approved on a 3-2 vote, prompted the recall effort against the three board members who supported the arrangement.

Attorneys for the San Ysidro district would not discuss Paul’s silence in the lawsuit by EcoBusiness Alliance, the company hired to install the solar power systems. In court filings, they argued the responses could taint the jury pool and harm Paul’s criminal defense.

“Defendants have legitimate concerns, with factual support, that plaintiffs intend to disseminate the transcript and video of Paul to the media in order to gain an unfair economic advantage in the instant litigation, unduly influence and prejudice the jury pool in this action against the district, and prejudice Paul’s defense in defending the criminal charges against him,” the lawyers wrote.

Paul’s deposition — his third in the case — was taken April 17 and lasted 34 minutes, according to a video obtained by the Watchdog. Paul asserted his Fifth Amendment right 43 times.

San Ysidro school board President Jason Michael-Bradley Wells defended the severance package, saying it was the most expedient and least expensive way to end the relationship. He said Paul will be required to repay the money if he is convicted. Wells said he understands and agrees with the lawyers’ advice to Paul not to answer any more questions.

“The plaintiff in this case has been brutal with lies, antagonism and bullying at a personal level against several people involved in the district,” he said. “The depositions have had nothing to do with solar panels and business contracts.”

The San Ysidro district educates about 5,200 students between kindergarten and eighth grade at seven schools. The district entered into an agreement with EcoBusiness Alliance to supply solar projects at the district’s schools, but the deal went south after Paul recommended the contract be canceled for nonperformance.

The company claims the contract was wrongly terminated and sued last year for $18 million.

In previous depositions related to the civil suit, Paul admitted accepting $2,500 in cash from a contractor named Loreto Romero, who was trying to secure work from the district. Paul accepted the handoff in his Mercedes-Benz in the parking lot of a steak house on Broadway.

Paul later said the money was a campaign contribution that would pay for signs for incumbent Trustee Yolanda Hernandez. Hernandez also was indicted in the criminal case.

The Watchdog reported in November that federal agents are conducting their own investigation into the $2,500 transaction, and in December reported that state political regulators were reviewing it. Those probes are unrelated to Dumanis’ corruption case, set for trial next year.

In defending the EcoBusiness Alliance complaint, San Ysidro’s legal team repeatedly said Paul was a key witness.

“The district needs Mr. Paul’s substantive testimony to defend against the lawsuit,” lawyers wrote in a January motion. “Manuel Paul is a critical witness to the defense of the district’s case,” they wrote in another brief.

Defense attorneys on Thursday asked the court to seal both the deposition transcript and video, but Judge Steven R. Denton declined.

“As far as I know, I’m not authorized to preclude the parties from discussing this issue with whoever they want,” Denton said. “I’m not in a position to grant the relief you’ve requested.”

Details

Patrick Prindle, the EcoBusiness Alliance lawyer, said that despite three sworn depositions, Paul has yet to explain why he recommended the contract be canceled.

“Instead of telling us what that information is, Mr. Paul asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent,” he said. ”Only Mr. Paul knows why answering that simple question would subject him to criminal liability.”

Prindle said his client’s systems would have saved the district up to $16 million in electricity costs without having to pay to install the solar equipment.

”Instead, it has spent hundreds of thousands of public funds for legal fees to keep EcoBusiness Alliance from fulfilling its contract,” he said.

Erika Barajas, a parent in the district, said Paul should answer the questions if it will help the district’s case.

“Mr. Paul left us in the big hole and he knew this,” she said. “I think he doesn’t talk because everything will come out if he does. It’s not fair what he’s done with our kids’ money. Our schools are going down the hill.”